Tag Archives: Lego fun

Besides a bin full of learning and fun, thinking skills, kindergarten readiness, and more, Lego and Duplo are great for building memories. Just think for a minute about what you remember building with them. Did you have some favorite creations? Were there some bricks that you were always looking for because there were never enough of them? Who did you most enjoying building with? What crazy things did you do with Lego?

Those few questions should trigger some memories that you have about Lego, but just in case, here’s another one. Have you ever stepped on Lego? Do you remember how it feels? My feet curl and twist just thinking about it. How about the sound that bricks make as they smash together when hands tumble them all around looking for particular kinds. Are your ears cringing? Lego memories can be powerful.

This last month, there have been several blog posts about how Lego and Duplo play encourages different learnings. Thankfully, lots of friends have shared pictures of ways their kids have played. I’ve saved something awesome for the last day of the month. A friend took his kids to see some amazing Lego creations. These are unforgettable and works of art. I wonder how many bricks are in each one and how many hours it took to build them? Do you think the creators followed detailed plans, or did they just have an idea and figured it out as they went along?

In addition to all the rest, plus great memories, that could be another benefit: the way that Lego can stimulate the mind to ask questions. Or maybe not, since kids ask more than 300 questions a day! But that wondering and seeking information is part of the force of childhood. Lego and Duplo are positive proof of the saying that big–and hulking–things come in small packages. How big is your child on Lego and Duplo play?

One of the most powerful activities that we can do with young children to help them with early learning, kindergarten readiness, and important thinking skills, is to read and and talk with them. Did you know that when we talk and read to kids their brains develop 700 new neural connections every second? It would… Continue Reading

Of the many early childhood connections I’ve made, one of my favorites is with Jeff A. Johnson at Explorations Early Learning. Often, Jeff finds quotes about early learning and play to inspire us all and turns them into posters. This is one of them, and it seems to link up wonderfully with Lego and Duplo.… Continue Reading

Recently, there has been much discussion about play with loose parts and how it contributes to creativity, exploration, imagination, learning, and fun. Of course, all of those in turn support kindergarten readiness and important thinking skills and strategies. Loose parts can be anything, such as rocks, pine cones, sand, water, pieces of wood, crates, balls,… Continue Reading

When we think of doing art projects with kids, we think of using paint, paper, glue, playdough and other materials, but Lego and Duplo? Yes, kids can do amazing art with Lego bricks that adds another dimension to learning, fun, and kindergarten readiness. Has your child tried Lego art? Have you? When Little Sister went… Continue Reading

Young children seem to have amazing powers of concentration–when it comes to something they really want, but when it’s something we want, or they are not so keen on, concentration can be brief. However, concentration and focusing are skills that can be encouraged, practiced, and developed; they help with learning at any age and kindergarten… Continue Reading

Kindergarten readiness and creativity are not opposites; creativity is an important strategy for learning and thinking for children of any age. The importance of creativity has recently been recognized in industry and business. In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, “Creativity has become the new literacy.” He strongly believes that we need to nurture the… Continue Reading

Lego and Duplo can be used for some unique ways to play for fun, learning, and kindergarten readiness all at the same time. There have been lots of posts recently about freezing pieces and they certainly made me wonder, especially who first thought of the idea. Knowing that a container of liquid could get spilled… Continue Reading

With tomorrow being Pi day (March 14 is like pi, that is 3.14 the magic number for circles), it seems appropriate to blog about how Lego and Duplo can help young children with early math and kindergarten readiness skills. Lego and Duplo are made of mostly squares and rectangles, but there are some wheels. Learning… Continue Reading

Lego and Duplo can be considered as a sort of “gym-equipment” for building brain muscles. They help kids develop thinking skills and kindergarten readiness as they play and have fun. Part 1 talked about the strategy of problem-solving; this part will look at decision-making. It’s obvious that problem-solving is an important skill or strategy, but… Continue Reading